In the first Gulf War the US ran round-the-clock operations from Incirlik

By Jonathan Marcus
BBC Defence Correspondent.

The details of how any US attack on Iraq might unfold are still far from certain.

But what is clear is that any assault would almost certainly be preceded by a lengthy bombing campaign to destroy Iraqi air defences and to weaken its forces in the field - especially the armoured formations of the Republican Guard.

In such a campaign Turkish air bases would play a vital role both because of their strategic location and because Turkey, as a Nato member, has compatible military infrastructure from which US aircraft could operate.

The base at Incirlik is the only established US Air Force forward-operating base in the region.

Gulf War precedent

It is located in south-eastern Turkey near the city of Adana and is roughly 500 nautical miles from Baghdad and out of range of any Iraqi ground-to-ground missiles.